Floated inertial instruments such as certain types of accelerometers and gyroscopes require flotation fluids for operation. such fluids must have high densities to provide adequate flotation for metal parts, and also require relatively high viscosities for good damping properties.
Presently used flotation fluids such as chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE), bromotrifluoroethylene (BTFE), and triazines having halogenated side chains derived from CTFE and BTFE suffer from certain disadvantages. CTFE and BTFE cannot be obtained as single components (except for very low viscosity fluids), and therefore cause instrument anomalies such as gravity sensitive trends and hot storage sensitivity. CTFE also is a wax at room temperature except for low molecular weight species. The triazines are of higher purity than CTFE or BTFE, but because of difficulties in purification they are not single component fluids, but contain isomers such as diastereomers and head-to-head monomer units. They are also quite expensive and exhibit maximum densities in the range of only about 2.4 grams per ml.